


Water Bearer

by CorsetJinx



Category: Shall We Date?: Wizardess Heart+
Genre: Gen, Snark, merman Klaus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-22
Updated: 2015-11-22
Packaged: 2018-05-02 22:01:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5265272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CorsetJinx/pseuds/CorsetJinx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clara Hart's first trip to the beach is full of adventure! And unasked for advice from a stranger. - C</p>
            </blockquote>





	Water Bearer

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to jambajunkie, inspired by robancrow's drawing of Klaus as a merman.  
> Clara Hart belongs to Jamba.

Sand clung to the bottoms of her feet as she walked, giggling as Amelia raced ahead to catch up with one of her friends from class. Her roommate’s voluminous hair bobbed in its ponytail, announcing her presence almost as well as her bright, cheerful voice did. Clara took a moment to enjoy the feeling of the breeze drifting past, gasping and laughing as she backed away from the seafoam rushing over her toes.

The water, when she’d worked up the courage to actually wade out into it, was chilly. Not as purely cold as the mountain rivers she’d swam in back home; this was enough to make her take it slow and wait until the chill was a little more bearable before going any deeper. It felt a little strange, once she was submerged up to her waist. Unlike a river, the ocean seemed to hug her figure even as the tide moved.

It almost felt like it was tugging her forward, coaxing her further out.

Clara stopped when her feet could no longer touch the bottom, performing a small hop and backstroke of her arms to find the sandy ground once more. Further out, the sun shone pleasantly on the tiny waves coming in - enough that she needed to shield her eyes to avoid the glare. The water was blue, dark blue, and it was utterly captivating how far it stretched, joining with the horizon at some point her eyes couldn’t perceive.

Something slick brushed against her leg and she backed up further with a yelp, blinking and trying to peer through the salty water to locate whatever it had been. Fish were one thing, something she was used to from the rivers in Reitz.

If it were something bigger though…

“Hey!” Amelia’s voice rang out, drawing the brunette’s attention away from the water. her roommate was wading in, shivering in the water but pressing forward. “Who said you could have all the fun to yourself, huh?”

“S-sorry Amelia.” Letting out a laugh, she turned so that she faced the older girl, tucking her legs up to see if she could float in place and still talk. To her delight, she could. “I just wanted to see what it was like.”

“First time in the ocean, huh?” Brown eyes softened as Amelia smiled, swaying her arms in time to the pull of the water as she floated too.

Nodding, Clara kicked her legs for the fun of it, not intending to go very far.

The resistance of the water against her legs felt similar to swinging her legs while wearing a skirt, simply heavier, wetter. Where the fabric of her swimsuit met another patch of skin was a vague jolt of sensation, chilly but smooth, like the scales of a fish.

“Alright, let’s have some fun. Just don’t swim out too far.” With that, the redhead scooped up a handful of water and tossed it at the shorter girl, making her yelp for the second time that day. Smiling wide, Clara splashed her back, eventually finding her balance enough in the water to swim after the older girl.

They swam and splashed until it was time for lunch, calling a truce and heading for the beach. Clara found that, once out of the water and getting dry, that salt clung to her skin all over and if she wasn’t careful it would infiltrate everything - and that salty tea was no good at all.

Once she’d recovered her breath from laughing, Amelia suggested they try to swim again before they left - or to hunt for seashells.

-

“What do you think you are doing?” The voice caught her off guard, making her feet slip on the tilting edge of sand separating her from deeper water and causing her to nearly dunk herself beneath the surface. Clara straightened herself, sputtering, shaking sodden bangs out of her eyes and blinking through the sting of salt to find the source. It helped, sort of, when the one who’d spoken snorted- either suppressing a laugh or just making fun of her in general.

She turned, mouth open to speak and froze. Staring back was a man, bare from waist up, violet eyes narrowed in her direction. Golden hair glistened from the water, several beads of it slowly dripping off his face. He looked less than impressed, for all his aristocratic appearance might have made Amelia turn red.

She was red, she could feel it - but that was from embarrassment.

And he had been the one to make her slip in the first place, surprising her like that.

“Are you going to talk Bunnyhead, or just stare at me like a dolt?”

That got her attention, made her shoulders lift defensively as ire flickered to life in her chest.

“B-bunnyhead?! Y-you can’t call me that!” It came out less strong than she’d hoped, trailing off into weak defiance. Clara was certain that his steady glare was the cause, feeling herself shrink under it as they floated. The water was deep enough that she had to move her legs to stay afloat, but he seemed to have no trouble.

“Your hair is like a rabbit’s ears.” Was his only response, until his expression shifted, becoming smug. “Who are you to tell me what I can or cannot call you? It seems obvious that you have the attention span of a rabbit.”

“D-don’t be so mean!” Kicking her legs, Clara propelled herself backwards, belatedly afraid that she might have kicked him. But her legs met nothing but water, and the surrounding water was too dark for her to see his bottom half.

“You say that, but you’re quaking like a guppy.” His voice seemed to have deepened, leaving no question that he was enjoying her discomfort. His eyes went to her clenched hand and paused there, expression shifting towards something like concern. “What’s that? Hurt yourself have you?”

“N-no!” If she didn’t need both arms to keep herself afloat, she would have tucked that hand behind her back. Never mind that it might make her seem like a guilty child, she just didn’t want him to make fun of her any more than he’d already done.

“Are those…” He cut himself off, scoffing, actually rolling his eyes before he looked at her again. “You’re supposed to look for sea shells _by the shore_ , you imbecile. Not out towards open water. You don’t strike me as capable of diving to look for them.” He left it unsaid that she probably lacked the discipline to open her eyes underwater, at least without some form of aid.

_He would have been right anyway,_ she thought.

“I know that!” Gathering up her courage, she tried to draw herself up to seem taller, maybe a little more mature so he wouldn’t dismiss her so easily. It seemed to have the opposite effect, between his judging gaze and the fact she kept bobbing in the water. “I just… I wanted to see how far I could tread before turning back.”

That last part left her as a mumble and she sand without meaning to, water brushing the bottom of her chin before she caught herself. Her hair was getting heavy, but she wanted to at least explore a little more - Amelia was supposed to be doing the same down the opposite side of the beach.

“You aren’t used to the ocean, are you, Bunnyhead?” Heat flared in her cheeks, twisting in her stomach, but Clara tried to think of the dip in his tone as a positive. At least it didn’t sound like he was teasing her anymore, nickname aside.

“No. My home’s close to the mountains, so this is my first time by the sea.” It made her smile, made her forget how affronted she’d been.

It also made a funny look cross over the stranger’s face.

“And your friend left you to your own devices?” His voice took on a lecturing quality as he gave her a once over, heat returning to her cheeks as he did so.

“W-well… Hey, how did you?” Perplexed, she kicked her legs almost without thinking to buy herself a few more seconds buoyancy. The man rolled his eyes again, this time with more restraint. “You just confirmed it, you silly girl.” Sweeping his arms out almost idly, he glanced back towards the beach, the occasional group or couple walking by.

“If its shells you want, you can follow me. Or I can bring them to you. However,” turning his head back to her, Clara shivered at the glint in his eye. “If you do choose follow, I expect you to keep up.”

His challenge caused a knot to form in Clara’s stomach, but she steeled her nerves. “A-Alright. Lead the way then.”

He stared at her for a long moment, expression unreadable before shaking his head. “Forget it.”

She her confidence deflate almost instantly, confusion marring her face. “W-what? Did I do something wrong? I can swim, so you don’t have to-”

“That’s not it. You don’t take offers from strangers, Bunnyhead. Didn’t anyone ever tell you that?” He snapped, features twisting for a moment. It made her go quiet, and brought the realization that her toes were skimming colder water. She shifted until she was back previous position, shoulders wanting to hunch even as she kept herself from doing it.

“M-my name’s Clara… if that helps.” She said, sounding small and a little lost.

What it did was make him sigh and close his eyes for a moment. Without that piercing gaze trained on her, she felt a little better, until he opened them again. His face was set, and he seemed to have decided something.

“I didn’t ask for your name, Bunnyhead. You shouldn’t just hand that out either. You’re entirely too trusting and you’re getting tired.” He inclined his head towards the slowing motions of her arms, the nearly absent kicks of her legs.

“I-I’m not…”

“Don’t argue with me.” He didn’t snap, not this time, but it sounded like he was close. “Go back to the shore before you slip again.”

“You can’t just boss me around. Y-you’re still a stranger t-” He cut her off again, an edge to his tone that shattered any ideas of continuing the argument, “I’m not going to repeat myself, Bunnyhead. Get back there before I drag you myself. If you aren’t used to water like this then you have no business swimming beyond a certain point. Understand?”

He’d drifted closer, as if to emphasize his threat to pull her along. Clara wanted to say otherwise, but in the end held her tongue. He followed her back towards the beachline, stopping before he came near the shallows. Her legs shook slightly as she touched on somewhat solid ground, reminding her that she’d been moving for a long time. When she turned to look back at him, to ask - what, she wasn’t quite sure. Was he not coming? Had he just followed her to make sure she took his advice?

He wasn’t there.

Clara stared, seeing only blue, blue everywhere that wasn’t sand and someone’s abandoned towel and felt her heart sink.

Had something happened, that fast, when she hadn’t been looking? Should she try and help?

She was certain she hadn’t heard anything like the sounds of distress, and he was, or seemed, a better swimmer than she was.

“You’re staring again, Bunnyhead. I’m starting to think you might be trying to prove me correct in thinking you have a short attention span.” This time she didn’t slip when his voice came from nowhere. He’d popped up from beneath the water, she assumed, because the only footprints were her own.

“When did you dive? I didn’t hear you at all.” She must have looked as confused as she felt, because he glanced at her face and a smirk appeared on his own.

“Unlike you, I’m capable of being quiet. Come here, would you? I imagine we don’t have all day.”

Still unsure, but unafraid, she set the small handful of shells she’d been carrying down in the sand, flexing her hand a few times to get the muscles to loosen as she edged her way back towards the water. He was still submerged from the waist down, but she didn’t see…

“Eyes. My face is up here, Bunnyhead.” His sharp tone jerked her eyes up accordingly, and she didn’t think she liked the smile on his face. “I-I wasn’t…”

“Of course you weren’t. I hadn’t taken you for a pervert.” His eyes were tilted up at the edges in amusement, otherwise he looked almost entirely serious. Almost.

“S-stop it! Y-you’re teasing me again!” Clara made herself stop before she began stomping towards him in the water, she was almost up to her thighs and the ocean was tugging at her again, chilly but gentle -for now- and his expression had turned smug again.

“Are you this animated with every person you speak to? It’s a wonder you have any energy at all.” What might, perhaps, have been smile appeared on his face. But he surprised her by extending his hand, several shells resting in his palm.

She couldn’t name the types right off the top of her head, but they looked different from the ones she’d picked up and they gleamed in bright sunlight. What was a handful to him required both her hands to carry, and she wanted to glare at him for snorting when she nearly dropped some. Some of the shells had pointed edges, and those she tried to be the most careful with.

“You didn’t have to.” Clara looked at him once she’d managed to pry her gaze away from the tender shade of pink teasing her from within a shell that spiraled in on itself, several points extending from the exterior like a warning. He’d been watching her, she guessed, because he hadn’t said anything for several moments.

“Perhaps I like that look on your face.” He countered, arms making another sweep through the water, supporting him. Something long and dark moved in the edge of her vision, just behind him. “Even if it makes you look like a dope.”

“Wha- you…” Clara fumbled, frustration rising as the words escaped her. He pinned her with a sharp smile and she sighed in defeat. Something moved again, in the same place just behind and she tried to lean around him to see what it was.

Had a fish followed him?

“What did I say about being a pervert?” Underneath the teasing, there might have been an edge of a warning. She didn’t heed it, rising on her toes to see better. Unfortunately, the sand gave under her weight and she pitched forward, dropping the shells as she tried to move her arms to balance.

He said something, probably admonishing her again, and suddenly he was closer, hands on her upper arms. Cool skin touched hers and she jumped, her own hands finding themselves meeting skin that wasn’t hers and - and…

She saw it, the tail of a shark, but it was part of him - this close there really was no mistaking it. Something emerged from her mouth, a kind of whimpering noise perhaps, but no words pushed forward to fill the space.

“You… You’re just accident prone, aren’t you?” His voice was closer, practically right by her ear, and it was much more intimidating up close - gruff, irate, or…

“Y-you’re… I-I…” Lifting her head, she stared up at him, feeling that her eyes were much too wide.

“And you, Clara, are being very rude.” His lips quirked up on one side, eyes tilting up again at the edges. “It’s Klaus. Not ‘you’, ‘you’re’ or ‘I’. Remember that.”

“K-Klaus…” She repeated numbly, skin warm where his hands were.

“Good. We have that settled. Do you think you can stand properly and not make a mess of yourself?” His fingers squeezed her arms once, lightly, but it was enough to jolt her back to her senses. She tried to spring up, up and back, away, but he only let her go so far once she teetered.

His tail moved through the water easily, as if keeping time to his amusement.

“You aren’t doing a very good job of making me believe you’ll be alright on land either, Bunnyhead. Is your head full of air?”

“S-stop that!” Clara exclaimed, straightening up and finding her balance once more, only to lose steam when she felt the weight of his palm on her head.

“I’ve changed my mind,” he said, tilting his head as his previous smirk returned. “This might be the face I like best on you. Your cheeks all puffed out like a bunny’s.”

“Klaus!”


End file.
